Pepper spray was source of explosion scare at Motel 6 in Belmont

BELMONT, Calif. -- Pepper spray was at the root of a reported explosion and strong odors at a Motel 6 in Belmont this afternoon that left 10 people in need of medical treatment, according to police.

Police said reports of an explosion at a Motel 6 in Belmont are unfounded but that nearly a dozen people inside the building were treated for exposure to chemical odors.

The odors affecting people inside the building "turned out to be pepper spray," a post on the Belmont Police Department's official Twitter page said.

San Mateo County fire crews were dispatched to a reported explosion and strong odors at the motel at 1101 Shoreway Road at 2:06 p.m. and evacuated the building, according to fire officials.

Crews arrived to find 22 people in the building, all who have declined transport to hospitals, according to a post on the Redwood City Fire Department's official Twitter page. But Belmont police said that 10 people received treatment at the scene for the chemical odors.

Fire personnel were evacuating the motel and hazardous materials crews were investigating the source of the explosion a short time after 3 p.m., according to the Twitter page.

Police were attempting to locate the person responsible for discharging the pepper spray as of 4 p.m.